WASHJNGTON – The 2024 national turkeys have arrived at the White House from Minnesota and are taking visitors, mostly school children on tours of the presidential residence. The birds are scheduled for a presidential pardon Monday. Then it’s a 16-hour road trip back to Minnesota – not for a Thanksgiving platter but for a pampered life of luxury at a Waseca living game museum. Meanwhile, word leaked at the White House that President Biden will christen the birds Peach and Blossom for the official flower of his home state of Delaware.

Earlier: Minnesota turkey pair is White House-bound

Their days ahead. Most farm-raised turkeys don’t survive Thanksgiving. Pets typically live 10 years. The record is 15 years for a bird in Massachusetts. Image White House

WINONA, Minn. –  A St. Paul man believed to have smashed a glass door at Sloppy Joe’s tavern and stolen $200 was arrested at the Amtrak depot waiting for a train back to St. Paul. Justin Guy Adams, 56, was carrying cash and six grams of meth, police said. The break-in at the bar, at 526 East Third Street, was discovered about 5:30 a.m. The money was missing from behind counter. Surveillance video showed the burglar, whom a bartender recognized from the night before and claiming to be from St. Paul. Police found Adams at a quarter-mile away at the train depot about 8:30 a.m. Apparently he didn’t have an Amtrak timetable. The Borealis wasn’t due for nine hours and  the Empire Builder not for another four hours after that.

Adams. Charges: Damaging property, burglarizing, possessing illicit drugs.

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver who police said admitted he doesn’t handle his liquor easily was charged with drunken driving. This was about 1:25 a.m. at Third and Washington streets. The driver had been stopped for no headlamps but it was just as much how Gage Joseph Beck, 22, looked and smelled that worried the officer. Asked how much he had been drinking, the officer said,  Gage replied: “Not a huge amount but maybe too much for me to be driving,” elaborating that he was “a lightweight when it comes to drinking.” A breath test showed Gage’s blood-alcohol at 0.13% — indeed too much. Anything more than 0.08% is impaired driving under the law.

WINONA, Minn. – An agent from the state fire marshal gas been probing ruins at the Minnesota Equestrian Center. The job is to determine what started the fire that caused millions of dollars in damage. Jessica Rivers, the center’s owner, who arrived about 15 minutes after the fire erupted, suspects a space heater in rhe front barn. It was in that area of the massive complex that two horses were trapped in their stalls and died, as also did a cat. Staff released 13 horses in distant sections of the complex in time to get away.

Flattened, blackened. Gone are front portal for visitors, resident manager’s  quarters, offices,  front stables, storage areas.

Earlier: Horse arena fire levels 31,000 square feet

WINONA, Minn. – A southeast Wisconsin driver failed roadside sobriety tests and was charged with drunken driving. Daniel James Sherman, 21, of Hubertus, was stopped for bad plates on his vehicle, but police decided quickly that sobriety testing was in order. They said that Sherman’s eyes were bloodshot and watery, his eyelids droopy, his speech slurred– and he didn’t smell sober. His blood-alcohol tested at .09%– more than one-10th above the allowable max. The arrest was about 12:50 a.m. atMain and Second  streets

Basketball (girls): Jackson Kettle Morrane Chargers 58, LaCrosse Aquinas Blugolds 36

WINONA, Minn. — Police who had been checking out a shoplifting report at MGM Liquor on the Faf East End – a bottle of vodka. Then they  spotted a suspect a few blocks away. Yes, officers said, the guy had a bottle of vodka. A shakedown also found needles and 0.4 grams of meth, officers said. Arrested was Andrew Hansen Anderson, 34, of Winona. The arrest was about 2:20 p.m. in the 400 block of Mankato Avenue near Washington-Kosciusko School.

Anderson.  Charged with shoplifting and possesing drugs in a school zone.

LACROSSE, Wis. – First-responders pried open a wrecked Jeep to extract the driver after a crash on the South End. The driver was taken to a nearby emergency room. Witnesses said the vehicle had gone airborne, taken out powerlines, and landed in a ditch. This was about 12:40 p.m. on Mormon Coulee Road and Birch Street.

Dragging vehicle upright. Driver had been alone. Image: LaCrosse police

MAZEPPA, Minn. – Snow-making machines have been out at the Steeplechase ski slope with the plan to   open the Friday after Thanksgiving. First to open, said owner Justin Steck, will be tubing runs. Following as soon as there’s enough snow, will be the ski hill.

Whitening slopes. On bluffs along Zumbro River.

Basketball (women): Winona State 82, Upper Iowa 69

Basketball (women): Des Moines Community 85,  Rochester Community 57

Basketball (men): UW-LaCrosse 99, Marietta of Ohio 75

Hockey (women): Saint Mary’s 3, St. Catherine 0

Basketball (girls): Prairie du Chen Blackhawks 68, LaCrosse Logan Rangers 23

Basketball (girls): LaCrosse Aquinas Blugolds 56, Beaver Dam Golden Beavers 38

Hockey (girls): Hudson Raiders 2, Winona Winhawks 0

WINONA, Minn. – A Winona driver, Roseann Raymond, 86, was taken to the hospital with what appeared to be minor injuries after a collision at Broadway and Washington streets. Police said one car was turning left and was struck. The other driver, Lindzey Jo Bublitz, 42, of Winona, was unhurt. This was about 2:10 p.m.

WINONA, Minn. – The officer was sure it was Ashley Ann Johnson behind the wheel. He stopped the car. Sure enough, it was Johnson — her seventh stop in three months for driving without a license. This was about 10 a.m. in the 200 block of North Baker Street. The charge was as a habitual violator.

WINONA, Minn. –  The fire at the Minnesota Equestrian Center arena destroyed about one-quarter of the sprawling complex of barns, arenas and sheds, said Fire Chief Josh Murphy the Wilson Fire Departnent. The complex comprises 128,000 square feet, of which 31,000 were a complete loss, he said. Another 45,000 square feet received minor smoke and heat damage. An estimated 40% of he complex suffered no damage or only minor smoke damage, he said. A residence for a live-in manager and his family was a total loss, Murphy said. The Wilson Volunteer Fire Department, whose station is a mile away, was the first to respond. This was about 12:30 p.m. Crews remained on scene several hours after the fire was controlled to seek out hot spots. A fire watch was maintained throughout the night, Murphy said. He confirmed that there were no injuries to firefighters or the center staff but that two  horses and a cat perished. Damage to the central arena itself was minimal, he said.

Cooling hot spots. Volunteer Wilson firefighters into the night to dampen stubborn embers. Image: Wilson Fire Department

Earlier: Resident family at arena barely escapes fire

Earlier: Trainers free horses from burning arena

Earlier: Two horses dead in fire that swept rural arena

Earlier: Huge fire hits Winona show-horse arena

Mota family. Before the fire. He’s long-time employee of the Minnesota Equestrian Center. Ask them: They’ll tell you they’re cowboys and cowgirls.

Their worldly possessions gone in flames

WINONA, Minn. – A family living at the Minnesota Equestrian Center lost everything in the fu=ire that destroyed the arena. Jose and Bethany Motaand their two childfen edcaped wth jjytey we wesarng. They lived j a house attached to the arena. He u[was a kg9teemkoiyeeife cebter. Fuends esgakshe a gofundme site to helnthem belongings. This fundraiser is to help them get back on their feet.

Earlier: Trainers free horses from burning arena

On-site hydrants insufficnet. Firefighters hauled water from four remote sites, including the Sugarloaf area in Winona five miles away. Image: Wilson Fire Department

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Birth control clinics in Minnesota have experienced a rush of appointments for services to delay pregnancy. Ruth Richardson, regional chief for Planned Parenthood, said its clinics are booked into February for vasectomies. Why? Richardson cited concerned that the pending Trump reign will create obstacles for traditional birth control. Appointments for long-acting birth control such as intrauterine devices are up 150%, she said.

Bauses. Dad, mom and kids. Horses their passion.

Two animals perished; rest need new place to graze